The president of Indonesia's Sriwijaya Air Group, Chandra Lie, has confirmed talks are currently ongoing with several firms over the proposed establishment of MRO hubs at both Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta and Tanjung Pinang International Airports.
Speaking to Liputan 6 news, Lie said that given the space constraints such a project would require, typically 100 hectares, the larger of the two hubs would be in Tanjung Pinang with Soekarno-Hatta playing only a support role. Moreover, Tanjung Pinang's proximity to Singapore would also ease the sea-borne import of spares.
Government has already given its consent to the proposal with official notice having been issued early last month, he said.
In terms of cost, Lie said the project will cost around USD250 million to realise hence the need for foreign investment.
Sriwijaya Air Group is planning to hold an IPO early in 2017 with proceeds to fund this initiative as well as its ambitious fleet expansion plan. Among the purchases the Group is pursuing are a trio of B777s for Saudi Arabian flights and twelve ATR72-600s for its regional operator, NAM Air (IN, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta).
In terms of own fleet operations, Sriwijaya Air operates nine B737-300s, ten B737-500s, twenty-one B737-800s, and two B737-900(ER)s while NAM Air operates seven B737-500s.
